England all-rounder Chris Woakes, who was out of action in the crucial stage of the final Test match against India due to a dislocated shoulder, said not going out to bat on the final day of the match was something he never considered.

Woakes, who came out to bat with his left hand wrapped in a sling and tucked inside his sweater at the fall of the penultimate wicket, said he felt it was his “duty to do it for everyone” and he still had not come to terms with the fact that England lost the game.

“Though I wondered if my career was at risk when I suffered the injury, you just know you’re part of something bigger. It’s not just you that you’re playing for out there. It’s your team and your teammates, all the hard work and the sacrifices they put in, the people watching at home and in the ground. You just feel a duty to do it for everyone. I’m still gutted, devastated really, that we couldn’t get the fairy tale. But I never considered not going out there even if it had been 100 runs still to win or whatever,” said Woakes, who is awaiting further scans.

The England all-rounder said he began practising batting one-handed from the fourth day onwards with England assistant coach Marcus Trescothick. “It was nice to have the ovation and some of the Indian players came over to show their respect. But any other player would have done the same. You couldn’t just call it off at nine wickets down. I defended one normally and, oh mate, it was agony. We soon worked out that a left-hander’s stance would shield the shoulder and at least allow me to sort of block with my top hand in control. I hit a few, missed a few, but it felt like the only way to survive,” he said.

Apologises to Pant for broken foot

Speaking about the exchanges he had with India skipper Shubman Gill and his deputy Rishabh Pant, who had batted with a broken foot in the fourth Test, Woakes said, “Shubman said something like: ‘That was incredibly brave’. I told him: ‘You’ve had an unbelievable series, well played, and credit to your team’. Both teams wanted the win, of course, but it does kind of feel fair that it was drawn. I saw Rishabh had put an image of me on Instagram with a salute emoji, so I replied thanking him: ‘Appreciate the love and hope the foot is okay.”

Woakes said Rishabh Pant responded to it with a voice note that said ‘I hope all is okay, good luck with the recovery and I hope we meet again out there some day. “I obviously said sorry for the broken foot.”

Woakes, who did not get to face a ball, said running between the wickets was the toughest. “The first one was the worst. All I had taken was codeine and it was just so sore. Instinct took over here, even with my arm strapped down I tried to run as you naturally do,” he said.